No Snap Making Switch

Accuracy is an issue with each of the positional misfits this year. "All of them are going to have to show people they can throw the ball better than they did in college," says Bills General Manager Tom Donahoe, who drafted Kordell Stewart to play quarterback for the Steelers when others were thinking of switching Stewart's position. "People questioned Kordell's accuracy, too, but we didn't see that."

Randle El believes NFL teams wouldn't be questioning his accuracy if he were taller than 5-9. He might be right. One scout says Randle El would be a top five pick if he were six inches taller.

Even though Randle El is almost dainty by quarterback standards, he has long arms (301/2 inches) and big hands (971/4 inches from the tip of the thumb to the tip of the pinkie) that, in effect, make him play bigger. He was plenty tall at Indiana, where he threw for more yards than Peyton Manning did at Tennessee. He also was the only big-time college player ever to throw 40 touchdown passes and score 40 times.

Part of the reason he isn't considered a quarterback by most NFL teams is there is no one who has been successful in the NFL that he compares with. An offensive coordinator says 5-10 Doug Flutie is faster and has a stronger arm.

Randle El ran the equivalent of a 4.75 40-yard dash in the spring. But that clocking is deceptive. Randle El might not have track speed, but he has a quick burst that enables him to separate. On tape, Randle El appears to be one of the faster players on the field.

What works against Randle El and all of these quarterbacks is they won't fit into most offenses being run in the NFL. If a team is going to draft Randle El as a quarterback, it must adapt to him by changing its offense. That would take a tremendous commitment and an unwavering belief.

Another possibility, the most intriguing, would be to use Randle El as a "slash"-type player, capable of taking snaps or handoffs, catching passes or punts. "You could create a package for him that would take advantage of his special traits," Bears General Manager Jerry Angelo says.

Randle El played some receiver at Indiana, and he looked like a natural at the position during the Senior Bowl, even earning MVP honors. He was much less impressive playing quarterback at the East-West Shrine game.

Each case is unique, but the best chance for most of these players probably is to remain at the position that got them this far. "History tells you most of them don't make it when they switch," says Angelo, who has studied the phenomenon. "It's too much to make a projection at the highest level."

What makes it even more difficult is the transient nature of the NFL. "We can't keep players around forever like we used to," Texans G.M. Charley Casserly says. "So a projection has to play sooner. That works against him and us."

There is a place for some of these gifted players in the NFL -- it's just a matter of defining it.